Need help with A3000 battery

obitus1990 · 31 May 2016, 21:25

Hello, all. I recently purchased an A3000, something I had always wanted back in the day when I could only afford an A500. Nostalgia aside, I need some assistance with the 3000.

It all boots right to workbench 2.x, but on opening the case, I found that the battery has never been replaced, and is leaking. I don't think it's done any damage to traces, etc., but, I want to remove it. From what I understand, the A3000 uses this battery to also save the NVRAM settings for the SCSI drive, as well as the RTC.

If I remove the battery, will the computer then not boot? I plan to replace it for certain, but, I need to know what I am in store for once I remove it. It's leaking, but, still seems to keep the settings saved (time/date/scsi) once the machine is powered off and unplugged, then replugged in a few minutes later.

If it does not boot, what do I do next? I don't have any floppies for this system.

Any and all advice would be appreciated.

Thank you,

Kirk

kneehighspy · 01 June 2016, 00:49

when i replaced the battery in my A3000D, it would still boot fine from floppy and hard drive.

you can download the program to change the scsi settings after you replace the battery. i think the onboard scsi defaults to either 0 or 7, cant recall at this moment, but you will be fine replacing the battery, she will still boot fine.

//kneehighspy

Retro Boxer · 01 June 2016, 03:08

onboard scsi defaults to 7. scsi prefs is the program you want.

Jope · 01 June 2016, 06:42

Most A3000s will still boot without the battery.

http://aminet.net/package/util/wb/SetBatt-1.2

Kin Hell · 01 June 2016, 11:43

@ kirk_m

Get the battery off the Mobo immediately. Yesterday is better.

Get the Mobo out of the case, use some sharp tin-snips on the end plates oif the battery & dispose of in a safe manner & not as Land Fill.
Get some Lemon juice & dowse the whole battery/Leaked area with it whilst working with a Soft/Medium tooth brush. Use copious amounts of juice & don't be frightened. This will neutralise the Acid from the battery & prevent further corrosion from the leaked Acid.

Good luck fella.

Daedalus · 02 June 2016, 09:57

It's possible to replace the battery with a lithium one which will not leak, though it requires the addition of a diode. Most Amiga parts dealers offer a small adaptor board that fits the original battery footprint and takes a standard CR2032, which should work for keeping the clock and SCSI settings.

Also, as Kin Hell said, be liberal with the lemon juice, and keep adding it until it doesn't fizz any more. That way you know it's all neutralised. Then, clean the area with 99% isopropanol so that it's not left all sticky.

31 May 2016, 21:25	#1
obitus1990 Registered User Join Date: May 2016 Location: Mandeville USA Posts: 203	Need help with A3000 battery Hello, all. I recently purchased an A3000, something I had always wanted back in the day when I could only afford an A500. Nostalgia aside, I need some assistance with the 3000. It all boots right to workbench 2.x, but on opening the case, I found that the battery has never been replaced, and is leaking. I don't think it's done any damage to traces, etc., but, I want to remove it. From what I understand, the A3000 uses this battery to also save the NVRAM settings for the SCSI drive, as well as the RTC. If I remove the battery, will the computer then not boot? I plan to replace it for certain, but, I need to know what I am in store for once I remove it. It's leaking, but, still seems to keep the settings saved (time/date/scsi) once the machine is powered off and unplugged, then replugged in a few minutes later. If it does not boot, what do I do next? I don't have any floppies for this system. Any and all advice would be appreciated. Thank you, Kirk

01 June 2016, 11:43	#5
Kin Hell 0ld0r Git Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Cornwall, UK Posts: 1,570	@ kirk_m Get the battery off the Mobo immediately. Yesterday is better. Get the Mobo out of the case, use some sharp tin-snips on the end plates oif the battery & dispose of in a safe manner & not as Land Fill. Get some Lemon juice & dowse the whole battery/Leaked area with it whilst working with a Soft/Medium tooth brush. Use copious amounts of juice & don't be frightened. This will neutralise the Acid from the battery & prevent further corrosion from the leaked Acid. Good luck fella. Last edited by Kin Hell; 01 June 2016 at 11:58.

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01 June 2016, 00:49	#2
kneehighspy Registered User Join Date: May 2015 Location: cerulean / usa Posts: 75	when i replaced the battery in my A3000D, it would still boot fine from floppy and hard drive. you can download the program to change the scsi settings after you replace the battery. i think the onboard scsi defaults to either 0 or 7, cant recall at this moment, but you will be fine replacing the battery, she will still boot fine. //kneehighspy

01 June 2016, 03:08	#3
Retro Boxer Registered User Join Date: May 2016 Location: Zebulon, Georgia/USA Posts: 11	onboard scsi defaults to 7. scsi prefs is the program you want.

01 June 2016, 06:42	#4
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,861	Most A3000s will still boot without the battery. http://aminet.net/package/util/wb/SetBatt-1.2

02 June 2016, 09:57	#6
Daedalus Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dublin, then Glasgow Posts: 6,334	It's possible to replace the battery with a lithium one which will not leak, though it requires the addition of a diode. Most Amiga parts dealers offer a small adaptor board that fits the original battery footprint and takes a standard CR2032, which should work for keeping the clock and SCSI settings. Also, as Kin Hell said, be liberal with the lemon juice, and keep adding it until it doesn't fizz any more. That way you know it's all neutralised. Then, clean the area with 99% isopropanol so that it's not left all sticky.

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